Acts of Engagement Writings on Art, Criticism, and Institutions, 1993–2002

Acts of Engagement brings together writings spanning the extraordinarily eventful ten-year after the author left The New York Times, where he had been an art critic from 1982 to 1991. The writings fall into three broad areas: art, art criticism, and arts and cultural institutions. In each area, Brenson finds it imperative to consider issues such as responsibility, creativity, process, and voice - issues that have taken on increasing urgency as corporate culture has overcome almost every aspect of American life. If we are to understand and come to terms with the violent shift from multiculturalism to privatization and the difficult if not precarious situation American art and culture are now in, we must engage the key words that define the book's four sections: language, identity, audience, and power.

Michael Brenson is an art critic, an art historian, and a curator. He is currently the Avery Fellow in the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College. He lives in New York